Construction of a $15 million Maori secondary school in Bethlehem will start in early 2011 after objections to the Environment Court were resolved.

Future Te Wharekura o Mauao students Bersharn Honiana, Teiaro Tuikato, Wiremu Ngatai and Pirihima Hitchman with principal Tame Kuka, on the site in Bethlehem where the school will be built.

There was unease among some in the Bethlehem community when plans for the school's construction were unveiled.
Three parties lodged an objection with the Environment Court earlier this year, but the matter was resolved before it went to hearing.
The school, to be named Te Wharekura o Mauao, will be the first full-immersion Maori secondary school in Tauranga.
It will be located on a vacant area of land on the corner of Bethlehem Road and Westmoreland Rise.
Tame Kuka will become principal when the school opens in 2012.
He says it is understandable that the school proposal created unease.
'I don't blame them because a lot of the information was not given out in the early stages.
'People need to know what it's about and what it will look like.”
Tame says the school will address the needs of Maori youth in Tauranga.
'It's not separatism. Maori kids are not achieving in mainstream schools so we are saying, ‘give us the opportunity to try and lift their performance'.”
Te Wharekura o Mauao's buildings and classrooms will be designed to replicate the shape of Mauao's base and its various features, such as the mountain's north-eastern bluff.
The school has the capacity to educate 450 students, from Year 7 – Year 13.
Tame says there may be a waiting list for students wanting to attend.
'Kids who come to this school will be motivated. I think it will be positive for the community.”